By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 11, 2017 : The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday granted bail to Pravat Kumar Dash, one of the accused in the chit fund scam in Odisha.

Dash is of the directors of Seashore Group of Companies which is embroiled in the multi-crore chit fund scam case.

Pravat, brother of Seashore Group chief Prashant Dash, was arrested by CBI on January 24, 2015 following marathon interrogation at the headquarters of the central agency here.

He had then moved the apex court seeking bail. Hearing the bail plea of Das, the Supreme Court criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its slow pace of probe into the chit fund scam in spite of taking three extensions from the apex court.

The apex court also disapproved Odisha High Court’s decision to quash the bail plea of the accused terming it as unwarranted.

Dash is accused of embezzling funds to the tune of Rs 3 crore. He was director of as many as 15 ventures of the Seashore Group of Companies including Seashore Securities Ltd, which had collected investments from investors from across the state assuring them of high returns.

Dash has been charged with criminal conspiracy and financial misappropriation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act-2002.